Dripless steam shower pipe



INVEN TOR. `JYSEPH H. DuPAsQun-:R

J. H. DUPASQUIER DRIPLEss STEAM SHOWER PIPE- Filed April 14, 1951 June 16, 1953 Patented June 16, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT oEFlcE 2,642,314 n BREL-ESS STEAM SHOWE@ Pire Joseph H.- Dupasquier, Oregon Gity, `Or'eg., asr 'signor' to 'Crown Zellerbach Corporation, San Francisco,Y Salif., acorporation'of'Neva'da eiei 41,121.11 11 1951S1.111 .N2 21,931

^ 1 This invention relates in general to devices, including ppesjnozles; and the' like, py'inearis of which a series of ,steam jets or a `steam shower can yloe emitted. More speciilcallv, this, invention relates to steam shower pipes in which a plurality of orifices ',or jet'openij'gs are provided for' an extended distance- "alng'tlie pipe to lenable a series of steam jets' to'loe discharged from the pipe so as Vto constitute a 'steaiii shower, and par'- ticu'larlv `such a steam shower pipe f roin tvhich the resulting' steam shower istoioe oiieonargedfin a downwards directielf Steam showers, and thus steamsliower pipes, perform important functions in themanufacture of paper,` and the present invention ie ypfriiriarily concerned with thefsftearn 'showerpipes used in this connection. Fei'r eiil'npl; inthe elly formation of the pulp mat on the Fourdrinier wire it'zis customary to have "a steam 'sliewer'dir'ecte'd downwardly on the `matfor theluifpos'of'getting rid of air bubbles which may' collect n the surfaces' of the mat, `and also later on thep'aper making process, steam Vshowers nlaybe"usedv for adding moisture to the lsheet for'teiurpse'of lgiving a better finish or gloss to the'nal lpef."

I t is very i'r'nportelnt-` 1h'ovvever,` lwhen steam showers are directed against pulfjmats or paper webs, in the process of the papermviufaeture, to avoid the -disch'argingfof' any `drcfls f Water against the mat o web' wt'litlie'steam, oiias winne readily understood, thei-esiiing iiiipaoi l of` drops of water blown out from thefsteain orifices against the mat or web might 'produce weak spots or other imperfections yin the iinal paper sheet. V t

Similarly, if a drop of water with the steam vis forcbily delivered Vagainstathin rliglit sheet during a later stage; thisy might usethesheet io stick' to nie calender oiis of th' fnaohineond if the paper sheet iverehavnsuch a delivered drop of Water, Iwhile not cusigthe sheeftto "stick to the calender rolls', wouldat least make a'streak in the finishedjpaper extending' f'r'seveial inches.

' While it'is'ciistomarv't provide -stean'ishower pipes with -ilaizis'g drainshand ether ineans -fo'r'preventing and disposing; of aecii'nlilations of water in the shower pipe,nevertheless;totl'ieloest of my lmowleolge,` no practical ineens has' been fund heretofore for enthieltA7 preventing Vsonrie 'water from collecting aloiigthe l'ottr'n in 'the inside of ahorzontall steam shower pipeduring .the dis-l onarging of the 'sieainiets comprising. the steam shower. l'Ilie resiltliasheen that from-timeto.

time at leas't'aaportioi of thecollected water would be blown ont rwith the steam through :the iet Openings. v ,o v

s claims. (o1. zeeman i of dropso'fwatr the steam shower will be" eliminated.

*"lhve object 'of this invention is to provide an FTQYE@ @team 59W? Pipe adapfd y'Q0Y 'be Inountedjin substantially horaontalposition and discharginga rowof-'ste'am jetsl downwardly, from wiiioiishowei pipe' alii danger of ine discharging A r'elatedobje'ct of invention is 'to provide y l /tsliovt'veijpip *of the type above indicated. "W111i:r will be pa'c al and relatively simple and inexpensive "tofnanufacture e "annerin'vvhicli thes'eolojects and other advantages are attained with nay invention'wiii be reodiigf iinoersiood'iro'm inoA following brief description with refereifi`- 'tothe naecompanving drawings Y 11172911@ drawings? stig. l is an'fevation partly in section, of a Steam S11-@Wer eine lss ance with my inventio Fig.` 2 is a se''cztional pan view taken online 2-2 ofiiig. 1; Fig;v 3 `isa vertical transverse section taken on Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse vsection taken on n infie 4-4 of Figsfi'ane'z Tanzi' w Fig. `^@is 'a'',frag-r'nentari sectional elevation, similarlinpart to'Fig. 1, but showing a modified construction `for carrying ont inyinvention. Y

riiergeference character `lu in the' drawings indiates the`b'o'clj of anordinary pipe ofen-3i de- Sifco iength' 'or-size, suitable' for use' asihe 'sieafn shower pipei and adapted t'o loe mounted in hori- Zonta; position oy any suitable means (not shown), longitudinal poiiionor Vsirio is out await from thopibe bottoni Tofa 'length corresponding approximately fto the desiredv shower line ion'gtn Preferabiy the' arcuate wioiinof lthis -cuttaway'pertien frointlie`r 'bottom' of the pipe body is acontece; or approximately one:fourth of the oy'iindiioai surface along that portion of the pipe from Wiiiontiie'strip 'portion out.

Referring to Figs. 1' to l4inclusive,an inverted lateral walls` 1 :41 'and 'l `5; fthe `l`dihedral' angle formed the lateral'walls'A cdrersp'ondinfgin delv mloly frformed 'inf 'accordi-L sert. Steam jet holes I9 of the desired dimension and of the desired spacing for the shower steam jets are drilled downwardly through the ridge or vertex of the V-shaped section, the axes of the drilled holes I9 extending in a plane bisecting the dihedral angle of the V-shaped section. Preferably the ridge of the V-shaped section is formed with a narrow iiat top surface, or the peak of the ridge is ground down to provide such a narrow flat top surface, as indicated at I6 in the drawings. This flat top surface I6 facilitates the drilling of the jet holes I9 and also provides a better top entrance for the discharging steam jet holes. j

When the V-shaped section has vthus been completed it is welded in place in the pipe I and the joints between the sidesand ends of the V-shaped section and the corresponding edges of the cut-out portion of the pipe wall are made watertight and steamtight, thus completing the shower pipe construction. One end of the shower pipe is connected by suitable joint, such as the elbow joint shown at I2 in Fig. l, or by anyother suitable means, to a'steam supply pipe I3 connected with a suitable source of steam supply (not shown), and the other end of the shower pipe is closed in any suitable manner, for example, by a cap such as that shown at I I.

A water outlet tap 22 (Fig, l) is placed in the bottom of the shower pipe beyond the V-shaped insert, or preferably in the bottom of the cap I I. This tap is left partly open at all times when the shower is in use to act as a bleeder for the water collected in the pipe.

As will now be apparent, during the operation of the steam shower any water which collects in the shower pipewill settle along the bottom of the pipe and inthe two valleys or troughs along the sides of the V-shaped insert formed between the sloping side Walls of the insert and the adjacent portion of the pipe wall. Before any water would be discharged, through the steam jet holes I9, the water. in the shower pipe would have to reach a height of approximately up to the top of the insert portion or, in the construction as described, approximately up to the pipe axis, which of course could hardly occur under any circumstances. j

Not only will the water particles or any water condensate in contact with the wall of the pipe and the sloping walls of the V-shaped insert settle along the bottom of the pipe or in the two valleys formed by the insert, but the impact of the portion of the incoming steam which strikes against the sloping end wall of the V-shaped insert will also tend to separate out from the steam any larger particles of water which might be carried along by the steam. The arresting of the progress of these water particles will cause them to settle in the troughs or valleys along the bottom of the V-shaped insert.

In the modiedvconstruction shown in Fig. 5, the insert 24,-which is similarly mounted in the similar longitudinal slot in the steam shower pipe I0', is solid throughout its extent. Thus the cross section of the insert 24 resembles the sector of a circle instead of therinverted V of the insert of Figs,V 1, 2 and 3. The joints between the sides and endsof the insert 24 and the corresponding edges of the slot in the pipe I0 are made watertight and steamtight, and steam jet holes 25 -of the desired dimension andA desired spacing are drilled through the insert 24 so to extend in a longitudinal medial 'plane along the insert.- In all other respects the steam shower pipe is the same as previously described and functions in the same manner.

My improved steam shower pipe, when constructed in either of the forms which I have illustrated and described, can be fabricated very easily and inexpensively. I consider the inverted V-shaped insert of Figs. l, 2 and 3 to be the preferred form .for the insert .since with this construction a length of common angle iron, cut to the right size, can be used for the insert, and. when the arcuate width of the cut out portion of the cylindrical wall of the pipe is approximately such a section of angle iron will have the top ridge of the insert approximately in the line of the pipe axis, and this I consider preferable although it is not absolutely necessary.

' Obviously other modications in the construction and in the size and angularity of the insert would be possible within the scope of my invention, and it is not my intention to restrict the same except as set forth in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a steam shower device of the character described, a pipe having a longitudinal slot extending along said pipe for a distance corresponding approximately to the desired shower line length, an insert in said slot, the sides and ends of said insert joined to the side and end` edges of said slot-in a' leak-proof connection, the lateral sides of said insert extending in planes converging within said pipe, and steam jet holes extending through said insert for the discharging of steam jets from said pipe, said jet holes 1ocated along the ridge vformed by the converging lateral sides of said insert and all extending in a single longitudinal planeA with the `axis of the pipe. 1.

2. In a steam shower device of the character described, a pipeY having aslot extending longitudinally along said pipe for a distance corresponding approximately to the desired shower line length, andan insert substantially V-shaped in cross section extending inwardly along said slot and having side walls and end closures meeting the pipe wall edges around said slot in a leakproof connection, the side walls of said insert converging along the axis of said pipe, and a row of steam jet holes extending through said insert along the axial linerof said pipe.

3. In a steam kshower (device of the character described, a pipe having a slot extending longitudinally along the bottom of said pipe for a distance corresponding approximately to the desired shower line length, the arcuate width of said slot being approximately 90, and an inverted section substantially V-shaped in cross section extending inwardly along said slot and having side walls and end closures meeting the pipe wall edges around said slot in a leak-proof connection, the side walls of said section converging along the axis of said pipe, the end closures of said section sloping obliquely inwardly, steam jet holes extending downwardly through the vertex of said inverted section and located all in the same longitudinal plane.

4. In a steam shower device `of the character described, a pipe adapted to be mounted in substantially horizontal position and having a slot cut out from its cylindrical wall along the bottom Side of said pipe and extending longitudinally along said pipe for afdistance corresponding approximately to the desired shower line length, and an inverted V-shaped insert extending inwardly along said slotand having side walls and end closures joined to the pipe wall edges around said slot with a leak-proof connection, the lside walls of said insert converging in a line parallel to the axis of said pipe, the dihedral angle formed by said side walls corresponding in degrees approximately to the arcuate width of said slot, the end closures of said insert sloping obliquely inwardly, the top of the ridge along said insert having a narrow substantially fiat, 1on-l gitudinally-extending surface, a row of steam jet holes extending downwardly through said insert along the center line, the axes of said holes located in a plane bisecting the dihedral angle formed by the sides of said insert.

5. A steam shower device of the character described including a pipe having a slot extending longitudinallyr along the bottom of said pipe for a distance corresponding approximately to the desired shower line length, an inverted section substantially V-shaped in cross section extending inwardly along said slot and having side walls water drain tap located at said latter end of said pipe beyond said section.

l JOSEPH H. DUPASQUIER.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Date Number Name 388,930 Thayer Sept. 4, 1888 978,597 Kennedy Dec. 13, 1910 2o 1,084,359 Potter Jan. 13, 1914 

